Fornino â€“ Plate 86

byHaganonJanuary 29, 2010

So I’ve done a lot of writing over the course of 93 plates. I estimate it to be around 40,000 words. I wanted to do something interesting for these last posts, so aside from a few snippets of things that
I experienced I’m going to crowdsource my write-up. For all of you unfamiliar with what that means, I think you’ll pick it up with the context clues.

“(Michael Ayoub has) been called everything from the maker of New York’s best pizza to… quite simply, a Pizza god.” When I read that on the website, I knew I was in for quite an experience here at Fornino. A lot of people would read that and see arrogance, but I say, don’t mistake confidence for arrogance (see, he didn’t capitalize the G in God, and obviously, the Pizza God moniker has been taken from a quote somewhere, and made by someone reputable; link).

Wood Fired Pizza Oven

Michael’s brother Frank showed us around the kitchen, which isn’t at all detached from the restaurant. The Salted Cod says, “The wood fired oven gives the crust a nice, crispy, slightly charred flavor” (link). While I can’t say I agree with their next statement, “This is the only way too cook a pizza,” (case in point – Grimaldi’s COAL-Fired pizza, link), I can agree that the base of the oven should be made from stone and flavor should be imparted by what is burning; not gas.

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Margherita Classica

The pizza is made with “herbs and vegetables grown in the restaurantâ€™s greenhouse” (link). I couldn’t really put it much better than, “The light crust that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Plus, the crust had great hole structure – it was cooked all the way through,” (link). I don’t really know what hole structure is, but I could venture a guess that it means when the bubble expands inside the crust, the outside doesn’t get black before the inside is cooked all the way through. The Margherita absolutely poops on Motorino’s similar offering. Why does Adam Kuban have such a hard-on for that place? Has he forgotten how “Fucking Awesome” (link) Fornino is?

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Calabrese

“Ottima Pizza, atmosfera tranquilla. Un piccolo ristorante, un’atmosfera tranquilla e un pizza veramente buona, da complimenti” (link) My thoughts exactly. The Calabrese was tomato, mozzarella, sopressata, and piccante. You could tell that was some expensive meat on that pizza; it was well-cured. This was Jeff’s favorite.

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Funghi Misti

“While biting into my first slice, I was totally … attacked by truffle oil, but I easily surrended” (link). I was considering giving Andy (link) a call because we were so pumped for the truffles on this one. This was my favorite; mozzarella, wild mushrooms of the season (I forget which they were). There was another pizza at the bottom of the list that we hesitated to order; the Tartufo. I just read Tien Ho’s take on it; “One of them was the truffle pizza, which usually runs $35/45 a pie – and there were at least 20 of those made. That was one of my favorites” (link, pic). Dammit! Look at those truffles! We should have had this one! I’ll be back, Michael. Mark my words … I’ll be back.

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Gorgonzola Pizza

“I have dreams about the sharp tang of Fornino’s Gorgonzola pie. Caramelized onions lend this gem a sweet finish that’s well paired with a sparkling bottle of Peroni,” (link). Don’t forget the rosemary, Chris – and you could taste every ingredient. It was as close to a dessert pizza as you could get.

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Did we eat all four pizzas? You better believe we did. Pizza God status; confirmed.